VAILO founder Aaron Hickmann selling company headquarters in Kent Town

Businessman Aaron Hickmann is selling the multimillion-dollar HQ of lighting firm VAILO, but says it’s business as usual as he looks to expand into larger premises.

Adelaide businessman Aaron Hickmann is offloading the multimillion-dollar headquarters of his advanced lighting company VAILO, but says it’s business as usual for the company as it looks to expand into larger premises at Wayville.

The sale includes two adjoining properties on King William St in Kent Town, one of which Mr Hickmann has owned for just four months.

A VAILO spokeswoman confirmed the company had also scrapped plans to take up residence in the Festival Plaza office tower, currently under construction, after it was unable to reach an agreement with Walker Corporation on leasing terms.

Instead, VAILO staff, as well as the head offices of related companies Vircura and Ikara Estates, will be co-located in a newly refurbished building at 60 Greenhill Rd.

VAILO offices at Kent Town.

The manufacturing and research & development facility will feature automation and robotics technologies, 3D printing capabilities, a photometrics dark room, a product development testing laboratory and offices for VAILO staff.

The manufacturing and R&D space will be more than five times the company’s current footprint of 300sq m.

“VAILO has undertaken a review of its property interests to ensure alignment with VAILO’s business strategy and that of related entities, including Vircura and Ikara Estates,” the VAILO spokeswoman said.

“This strategy includes a focus on expanding VAILO into the US market.”

Property records show Mr Hickmann paid $2.8 million for the property at 47 King William St in July 2021, later acquiring an adjoining property at 49 King William St for $2.2 million in March 2023.

Knight Frank has been appointed to sell the properties in one line or individually, with VAILO planning to lease back the site until the Wayville fit-out is completed in early 2024.

Mr Hickmann, who paid $10.5 million to acquire the Greenhill Rd building in March 2022, said VAILO had outgrown its current premises, and the move to Wayville would support future growth and an increasing workforce of engineers, industrial designers project managers and other staff.

VAILO’s Aaron Hickmann inside the Kent Town premises. Picture: Mark Brake

“VAILO’s new Wayville facility allows us to further develop our product ranges and test our technology, including some of the most advanced sport lighting systems and horticultural lighting systems globally,” he said.

VAILO would not disclose its revenue, profit or staffing figures, or measures of its growth in recent years.

Last month Mr Hickmann insisted his directorship of failed medicinal cannabis venture BBS Pharmaceuticals would not impact on the running of VAILO, which is naming rights sponsor of the Adelaide 500 Supercars motor race.

He resigned as a director of BBS last October but was majority shareholder when the company fell into liquidation on June 7, sparking an investigation by liquidators into all five of the company’s former directors. The investigation is ongoing.

Knight Frank’s Max Frohlich, who’s managing the Kent Town sale alongside Oliver Totani and Jack Dyson, said the site stretched across 1465sq m, providing a “high-quality generational investment opportunity” backed by a strong underlying land value and future development potential.

“As one of the best performing investment locations in metropolitan Adelaide, Kent Town continues to experience significant gentrification resulting in increased investment and occupier demand for the precinct,” he said.

Expressions of interest close at 4pm on August 8.